The Mind Creative NOV 2015

TheMindCreative
NOVEMBER 2015
1

E
Once in a while, you come
across a talent that is
difficult to fathom within
the realms of rationality.
One such person is the
amazing artist Stephen
Wiltshire. Diagnosed with
autism at a young age,
Wiltshire developed an
interest in art and today,
he is an internationally acclaimed
artist. Many consider him to be a
savant - a savant with an inexplicable
memory. Believe it or not, he can
capture images of an entire mega-city
within a matter of minutes and then
reproduce it in a drawing with
incredible detail! When I contacted his
management for permission to write
about him and reproduce his work, I
was indeed surprised to get an
affirmative reply. This is a milestone
for this e-zine and it gives me great
pleasure to dedicate the cover story
to the life and works of this
astonishing man.
You might ponder as to how a set of
feathers can be used creatively. When
I chanced upon the work of Chris
Maynard, I realised that you can do a
lot with feathers. In fact, you can
create masterpieces! In the Artist’s
Corner, I have published a very
interesting interview with Maynard
together with some of his best works
that depict his imagination and his
meticulous creations.
N
ditors’s ote
I take great pleasure in welcoming
two new contributors to this issue.
In the Poet’s Corner, you will find
some wonderfully constructed
poems by Gauri Dixit while Ronald
Tuhin D'Rozario’s short story of
simple love and hope, ‘Noelle’, is
featured in the Fiction Writer’s
Corner. This section also has a
delectable piece by Santosh Bakaya.
2
Readers who are interested in
music might want to head over to
the Musician’s Corner that features
an article that traces the curious
history of recording equipment and
sound playback systems (known at
that time as “the talking
machines”). Another interesting
trace of history is in the
Cartoonist’s section that dwells on
the origin of the ever-popular
Spider-Man! And, of course, for a
laugh, you can always head
towards the Humorist’s Section for
a great piece by the brilliant
Canadian writer Stephen Leacock.
All this and much more….
Happy reading!!

In This Issue
7 Stephen Wiltshire
Artist Extraordinaire
24 The Musician’s
Corner
The History of The
Talking Machine
40 The Fiction
Writer’s
Corner
‘Neither More Nor
Less’
By Santosh Bakaya
‘Noelle’
By Ronald Tuhin
D'Rozario
63 The Cartoonist’s
Corner
The Amazing Spider-
Man
74 The Reviewer’s
Corner
19 The Essayist’s
Corner
“FIVE”
By Sukumar Nayar
29 The Artist’s Corner
Chris Maynard’s
Featherfolio
51 The Poet’s Corner
Poems by Gauri Dixit
57 The Humorist’s
Corner
‘My Financial Career’
By Stephen Leacock
68 The Traveller’s
Corner
With Razi Azmi
80 The News and
Events Corner
3

Contributors
Stephen Wiltshire, is an artist and is considered
by many to be a savant. He specialises in drawing
and painting detailed cityscapes. He has an
incredible talent for drawing lifelike, accurate
representations of cities, sometimes after having
only observed them briefly. He was awarded an
MBE for services to the art world in 2006. He
studied Fine Art at City & Guilds Art College. His
work is popular all over the world, and is held in
several important collections.
Chris Maynard, is an artist who says this
about his work: “my work with feathers gives me
a satisfying perch from which to view the world.” He
has worked with feathers since he was
twelve and his unique feather shadowboxes
are recognized by art collectors, bird lovers, and a
wide and interesting variety of people from around
the world. He only has time to turn a small portion
of his ideas, which fill many notebooks, into his
shadowbox feather designs. His favourite tools are
the tiny eye surgery scissors, forceps, and
magnifying glasses passed down through his family.
SANTOSH BAKAYA says that she has ‘almost an
insane passion for writing on any topic under the
sun, having penned eight books - three of them
mystery novels for young adults, a couple of quiz
books, and my Ph. D thesis on Robert Nozick.’ She
has also published a collection of essays ‘Flights
from my Terrace’ about the extraordinary
ordinariness of everyday existence. Her acclaimed
poetic biography of Mahatma Gandhi, Ballad of
Bapu, was recently published. Her poems have
figured in the highly commended category of the
U.K. based poetry website, Destiny Poets. She has
won the International Reuel award for writing and
literature 2014 for her long poem Oh Hark!
Recently, she also won the Incredible Woman of
India 2014-15 award.
4

Sukumar Nayar is originally from Kerala, India. He is
a retired professor of theatre having trained at Royal
Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and New York
University (NYU). He had been involved with theatre
for over seven decades in India, Uganda, England,
Papua New Guinea, the United States and Canada. He
has directed, produced or otherwise been involved in
over 100 stage productions. For his contribution to
theatre he was awarded the Millennium Theatre 100,
“awarded to 100 theatre practitioners in Alberta for
outstanding contribution to the development of theatre
in the last 100 years.” After taking early retirement,
he joined the United Nations as a consultant. He lives
in Toronto with his wife who is also a retired professor.
Sukumar writes a weekly blog called
www.sukumarnayar.wordpress.com.
Razi Azmi is a former academic with a Ph.D in
history and a passion for travelling. He has been a
regular columnist in the Daily Times (published from
Lahore) and has his own BLOG at
www.raziazmi.com where he publishes his travelogues
and articles about contemporary political and
social issues. He can be reached at
raziazmi@hotmail.com
Ronald Tuhin D'Rozario was born at Calcutta and
studied commerce with specialization in Marketing
Management from St. Xavier's College, Calcutta. He
is an avid reader, a writer, and a blogger. Many of his
articles, essays, short stories, and poems have been
published in various national and international
magazines and journals. His poem ‘Memoirs of a
Summer' was also selected for a literary event
themed 'Summer Splash ' in Calcutta named, Poetry
Couture.
BLOG:
https:// ronaldtuhindrozario.wordpress.com
Facebook group: The Society of English
Literature
5

Stephen Leacock, FRSC (30 December 1869 – 28
March 1944) was a Canadian teacher, political
scientist, writer, and humorist. Between the years
1910 and 1925, he was the most widely read Englishspeaking
author in the world. He is known for his light
humour along with criticisms of people's follies.
The Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for
Humour was named in his honour.
Gauri Dixit is a software professional from Pune,
India. She is an avid reader and regularly writes in
different poetry groups on Facebook. Her poems have
been published in 3 anthologies.
6

Stephen
Wiltshire
Artist Extraordinaire
Source: www.stephenwiltshire.co.uk/
7

Stephen was born in London, United Kingdom to West Indian
parents, on 24th April, 1974. As a child he was mute, and did not
relate to other people. Aged three, he was diagnosed as being
autistic. He had no language skills and lived entirely in his own
world.
At the age of five, Stephen was sent to Queensmill School in
London, where it was noticed that the only pastime he enjoyed
was drawing. It soon became apparent that he communicated
with the world through the language of drawing; first animals,
then London buses, and finally buildings. These drawings show a
masterful perspective, a whimsical line, and reveal a natural
innate artistry.
The instructors at
Queensmill School
encouraged him to
speak, by temporarily
taking away his art
supplies so that he
would be forced to ask
for them. Stephen
responded by making
sounds and eventually
uttered his first word -
"paper." He learned to
speak fully at the age
of nine. His early
illustrations depicted
animals and cars; he is still extremely interested in American cars
and is said to have an encyclopedic knowledge of them. When he
was about seven, Stephen became fascinated with sketching
landmark London buildings.
One of Stephen's teachers took a particular interest in him, who
later accompanied his young student on drawing excursions and
entered his work in children's art competitions, many of which
garnered Stephen many awards. The local press, on the other
hand, became increasingly suspicious as to how a young child
could produce such masterful drawings.
8

The media interest soon turned nationwide and the 7 year old
Stephen Wiltshire made his first steps to launch his lifelong
career. The same year he sold his first work and by the time he
turned 8, he received his first commission from the British Prime
Minister to create a drawing of Salisbury Cathedral.
In February 1987 Stephen appeared in The Foolish Wise Ones.
(The show also featured savants with musical and mathematical
talents.) During his segment, Hugh Casson, a former president of
London's Royal Academy of Arts, referred to him as "possibly the
best child artist in Britain."
Casson introduced Stephen to Margaret Hewson, a literary agent
who helped Stephen field incoming book deals and soon became
a trusted mentor. She helped Stephen publish his first book,
Drawings (1987), a volume of his early sketches that featured a
preface by Casson. Hewson, known for her careful stewardship of
her clients' financial interests, made sure a trust was established
in Stephen's name so that his fees and royalties were used wisely.
Hewson arranged Stephen's first trip abroad, to New York City,
where he sketched such legendary skyscrapers as the Empire
State Building and the Chrysler Building, as part of a feature
being prepared by the London-based International Television
News. While in New York Stephen met Oliver Sacks.
Sacks was fascinated by the young artist, and the two struck up
a long friendship; Sacks would ultimately write extensively about
Stephen. The resulting illustrations from his visit - along with
sketches of sites in the London Docklands, Paris, and Edinburgh
- formed the basis for his second book, Cities (1989), which also
included some drawings of purely imaginary metropolises.
Around this time, Stephen embarked on a drawing tour of Venice,
Amsterdam, Leningrad, and Moscow, attracting crowds wherever
he stopped to draw. He was accompanied by Sacks, who was
conducting research for a new book on Stephen's story. These
drawings testify to an assured draughtsmanship and an ability to
convey complex perspective with consummate ease.
9

Stephen Wiltshire drew the illustration of New York
City after a helicopter ride of just 20 minutes
“... by the time he turned 8, he received his first commission
from the British Prime Minister to create a drawing of
Salisbury Cathedral…”
Source: http://www.bizarbin.com/stephen-wiltshire/
10

However, more importantly, they reveal his mysterious creative
ability to capture the sensibility of a building and that which
determines its character and its voice. It is this genius which sets
him apart and confers upon him the status of artist. His third book,
Floating Cities (1991), contains the elaborate drawings he made
on the tour.
In 1992 Stephen accepted the invitation of a Tokyo-based
television company to tour Japan and make drawings of various
landmark structures, including the Tokyo metropolitan
government building, in Shinjuku, and the Ginza shopping district.
He travelled to America once again, a trip that resulted in the book
American Dream (1993), which featured cityscapes of Chicago,
San Francisco, and New York, as well as the desert landscape of
Arizona.
“Do the
best you
can and
never
stop.”
- Stephen Wiltshire -
Meanwhile, Stephen's artwork was being
exhibited frequently in venues all over
the world.
In 2001 he appeared in another BBC
documentary, Fragments of Genius, for
which he was filmed flying over London
aboard a helicopter and subsequently
completing a detailed and perfectly
scaled aerial illustration of a four
square-mile area within three hours; his
drawing included 12 historic landmarks
and 200 other structures.
In late 2003 the Orleans House Gallery
in Twickenham, England, held the first
major retrospective of Wiltshire's works,
spanning a period of 20 years; more
than 40,000 visitors attended the exhibit,
shattering the gallery's attendance
records.
11

Stephen took on his largest project to date in May 2005, when he
returned to Tokyo to make a panoramic drawing - the largest of his
career - of the city. Two months later he drew a similarly detailed
picture of Rome, including the Vatican and St. Peter's Cathedral,
entirely from memory.
In December, after a 20-minute helicopter ride, Stephen spent a
week creating a 10-meter-long drawing of Hong Kong's Victoria
Harbour and the surrounding urban scene. (He dedicated the work
as a Christmas present to the city's residents.) Later he added
Frankfurt, Madrid, Dubai, Jerusalem and London to his collection.
The drawing (in the series) of his spiritual home, New York
encompassed a five day marathon drawing on a 6 metres canvas
live on television.
Further trips followed to Sydney, Shanghai, Brisbane, Singapore
and Istanbul later.
Contrary to the popular
misconception that Stephen is only
interested in capturing architecture
and classic American cars, he often
draws portraits of celebrities and
close friends in his private
sketchbook. Stephen started creating
caricatures of his teachers at primary
school, and has since then produced
many interesting caricature ‘snap
shots', documenting amusing
incidents encountered on his trips
abroad as well.
Stephen Wiltshire's passion for
buildings, cityscapes and skylines continuously inspires him to
revisit his favourite cities as well as discover new destinations while
travelling the world. In a recent interview in New York, he revealed
that the most intriguing qualities of an exciting city must have
‘chaos and order at the same time, the avenues and squares,
skyscrapers as well as traffic jams, the chaotic rush hour and people'.
12

Flatiron Building (NY) by
Stephen Wiltshire (2006)
Sydney Opera House by
Stephen Wiltshire (2008)
13

HONG KONG - Aerial view
MANHATTAN skyline
14

Mathew Brady
In January 2006, it was announced that Stephen was being
named by Queen Elizabeth II as a Member of the Order of the
British Empire, in recognition of his services to the art world. "It's
an absolute honour," his sister, Annette, told Geoffrey Wansell for
the London Daily Mail (January 3, 2006). "It brought tears to my
Mum's eyes and to mine, because we've all worked so hard for
Stephen."
Later that year, with the encouragement of Annette and her
husband, Zoltan, Stephen Wiltshire founded his own permanent
art gallery in London's Royal Opera Arcade, London's oldest
shopping arcade.
In July 2014, Stephen was commissioned by Singapore PH to
create a panoramic drawing of the city, which became part of the
National Collection of Singapore to celebrate the nation's 50th
birthday.
150,000 visitors attended his exhibition in just 5 days, setting an
attendance record in the history of the country.
HOUSTON
15

NEW YORK
16

South East London
Sketching the Sydney Skyline
17

WESTMINSTER 18 ABBEY

19

“Five”
By Sukumar Nayar
This is the sixth in a series of articles on
the numbers 0 to 10
Images:
https://www.pinterest.com
https://theembiggensproject.wordpress.comhttps
//en.wikipedia.org
20

Five, of course, is half of ten or the sum of four and one. I
suppose what crosses your mind when you think of five are
the five senses or five fingers or if you are a traveller, five star
hotels. Historians among you would, I am sure, be reminded of
the five-year plan, a term for national economic development,
a term which originated with the first such plans adopted by the
Soviet Union in 1928.
But if you are a golfer, you would think of the five iron used, I
am told, in lofting the ball. But this implement, once called a
mashie, is something you can’t buy in a five-and-dime store,
which was an establishment which sold miscellaneous articles
priced at five and ten cents. What can you buy these days with
five or ten cents.
And you would think that five fingers refer
to the digits of your hand. You would only
be partially correct because there is a plant
called five fingers, a native of New
Zealand, belonging to the magnolia family.
Aficionados always ask for five fingers of
Scotch at cocktail parties.
When I moved into Canada from Africa, I
had to go
through a massive initiation process—
naturally. So among the pastimes like
curling, I was also introduced to a
game called five pins. The object of
the game, for the benefit of my
readership in Thailand, India and
similar far flung places, is to throw a
ball down a highly polished lane of
wood and to knock off five pins
shaped like milk bottles.
I could never master the technique. Always left a couple of pins
unscathed.
21

The cousin of five, fifth, occupies a more exalted place in the life
of Americans. It is the Fifth Amendment, an amendment to the
constitution which guarantees the people due process of the law
providing a clause that no person shall be compelled in any
criminal case to be a witness against himself. Neat, eh?!
But my own pleasant memories go to the months I spent in New
York. Ah, FifthAvenue!! What a place to shop: window shopping
that is, except for the super-rich. …Sacs, Tiffany’s, Lord and
Taylor, Fortunoff…..
I shall never forget the occasion of my first visit to Fortunoff to
look at a flatware set they had on sale for half the price—250
dollars, 500 in today’s
value. When I was
leaving the store, near
the door, a lady who
seemed to be in a
mighty hurry, bumped
into me. She was
dressed in a T shirt,
jeans and a bandana
covering her head. She
said, “Sorry’”. The
gravelly voice sounded
familiar and I said, “Are
you by any chance…..?” Before I could finish the sentence she
said, “Yes, I am. I am still sorry.” She was Lauren Bacall!!
But I would be loath to be branded a fifth columnist because I
would be useless in any clandestine activity and play the role of
a spy or saboteur or propagandist. But I don’t want to be a fifth
wheel either; I do think that I am a useful human being, not a
superfluous thing.
The number five has another cousin-one of Greek origin—a
sneaky fellow who has great influence in our life— penta. Who
has not heard of the pentagon, though before it became the
centre of power controlling the world, it was just a geometrical
22

figure with five sides, as opposed to, say, the triangle or the
square?
I also think of
the pentameter,
especially the iambic
variety, having
struggled with it
through college and
during the productions
of Shakespeare,
reminding actors that
it is as simple as de dum, de dum, de dum. But try to use that
rhythm to recite, “ To be or not to be….” And see where you land!
I am always
fascinated by track
and field events in
sports where people
exhibit the results of
their commitment,
resolve and training to
jump longer, run
faster, vault higher
and throw farther. But
to me the ultimate
athlete is the
decathlete who has to participate in 10 events—two times five.
But please give credit to the pentathlete who participates in five
events—two sprints, two throws and one jump.
If you are the product of a similar educational system as mine,
you would have used your fingers to count. Counting with fingers
and toes is as old as mankind, I should think. Our decimal system
is based on this and Roman numerals, unquestionably, first
represented human fingers. Note the linguistic hangover of all
this in our mathematical word digit from the Latin word digitas,
meaning finger. In Papua New Guinea I noticed that many people
use one hand for five, two for ten. 20 is the sum of the fingers
and toes. Nothing after 20 counts!
23

26

The History
of
The Talking
Machine
Source:
https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/gramophone/028011-3021.1-e.html
25

The world’s first sound
recorded and sound
reproducer was invented
by Thomas Edison in
1877. In order to record
on this machine, the user
Thomas Edison’s model spoke into a mouthpiece
that caused a small
diaphragm to vibrate
which, in turn, made an attached stylus to indent the vibration
pattern onto a tinfoil sheet. To play back the recorded sound, the
user could then put the stylus back in the groove that it had made
and then rotate the cylinder. The diaphragm would then vibrate
and recreate the original recorded sound. This essential
methodology of patterns created by sound waves is still the core
method used for analogue recording machines of the modern day.
These ‘phonographs’ (shown on the
left) were initially sold by
entrepreneurs as dictating machines.
However, the real profits were raked in
when the same technology was
implemented in coin-operated
machines around 1890 that resulted in
greater demand for pre-recorded music
and comedy. In 1901, a more
commercially viable technology was
created that allowed multiple copies to
be made of the cylinder recordings. This allowed the middle-class
strata to get access to these machines that were run by handwound
spring motors instead of electricity.
The next phase was brought in by the Edison Opera A machine that
used hard celluloid Blue Amberol records to reproduce prerecorded
material in high quality audio. However, Edison stopped
making these machines in 1929 due to declining consumer interest
in cylinder based machines.
26

Instead, customers turned
their interest towards
recorded disks that were
released into the market via
a crude device patented by
Emile Berliner in 1887.
Berliner recorded sound on a
wax disk and the stylus
moved laterally across the
disk in a zigzag fashion
The Opera A based on the changes in the
sound wave. This machine
also allowed Berliner to
make cheap copies of the original disk. These copies were
ultimately recreated on shellac disks (a natural plastic that could
be softened by heat and that would then harden when cooled).
These machines were turned by hand and played on a small
record (the size of the modern-day CD) and played for not more
than 2 minutes.
The ‘gramophone’ came into
competition after Berliner
released its model. After the
turn of the century, disk players
started capturing the market
because of the ease of
manufacturing. The mass
appeal of popular singers and
opera stars introduced by the
record manufacturers added to
Berliner’s early gramophone
the increasing demand. In
1906, the company Victor Talking Machines (which had purchased
the Berliner patents) released a machine in the market called the
Victrola. The machine had a new streamlined design with the
‘horn’ located inside the cabinet.
27

The famous His Master’s Voice logo was a British picture, painted
in around 1900. It was purchased by the Gramophone Company,
but was first used on machines by the Victor Talking Machine
Company, in 1901.
The Victrola was later
replaced with an enhanced
model in 1917. This model
had better ornamentation
with carved pilaster at each
corner, and serpentine front
and sides. In its lower
compartments the cabinet
provided both vertical and
horizontal record storage.
The upper compartment had
Victrola IX
the horn outlet, with three
horizontal louvres. This
product (called the Victrola
IX) had the design and shape of the ‘gramophones’ that many of
us grew up with in the 21 st century.
28

29

Chris
Maynard’s
30

TMC::When and why did you start working with feathers?
CHRIS: I have worked with feathers since I was a child. I began
to seriously photograph them in 2007 and began to develop my
process of carving them in 2010.
Feathers are structural wonders. If we had feathers we would not
need houses. They provide warmth and protection from rain and
sun for about a year on the bird before they are shed and new
ones grow in. They are complexly engineered out of the toughest
of animal materials (same stuff as horns and beaks and claws)
and yet they are light as a … . They are shed from the bird – gifts
to us really – and yet they keep their structural complexity and
beauty. In this harsh world of life and death, feathers stand out
to me as a bit of gentleness and I want to share that with people.
TMC::Have you had formal training in in drawing and painting?
CHRIS: My formal education is in the sciences. Growing up, my
mother was a professional artist. She was a college art professor
at Agnes Scott for a little while before she got married and had
kids. She had advanced degrees in art history from the University
of Iowa so she had shelves full of art and art history books. Which
I ended up reading, first because I wanted to look at the art,
especially the naked pictures, but then I got interested in
technique and history. So that is where I got my beginning
education.
TMC: What inspires you to create your works?
CHRIS: I want to encourage appreciation and understanding of
the natural world. I am inspired by the birds themselves. Birds
doing what they do: eating, preening, interacting with each other,
displaying, playing, hiding, migrating, flying. I am inspired by the
symbolism of birds and feathers: the meaning they present for
us: flight, transcendence, hope, movement.
TMC: Has your work been influenced by any artist? In fact, would
you know any other who works with feathers?
31

CHRIS: I want to try to capture the essence of birds. I start with
feathers that already have some of the essence of the birds they
came from. I am attracted to artists that capture the essence of
birds with minimal effort, with minimal lines. So Sumi e brushstrokes
appeal to me, where the artist tries to capture the essence
of nature with brush strokes as simple as possible. Charlie Harper,
a US artist and designer also captured bird’s essences in a simple
but different way.
No one does the type of art that I do but I do know other artists
that work with feathers. There is Kate McGwire from the UK who
does incredible installations and Patrick Scott a Navaho who is a
master of making traditional fans.
TMC: Tell me something about the book that you have written.
CHRIS: Providing the images to the designers for the art book,
Feathers Form and Function was very quick because I already had
them. Writing about feathers took a lot longer as it took some
research. But in the end, the writing complements the art and
makes the book not only a table top book of art, but an easy to
read resource for anyone who wants to learn about what feathers
are, how birds use them, and the meaning that feathers have for
us, all cultures everywhere on earth. Besides my website, the book
is the best place to see my art. I mean, any art is best to see as
originals and you can go to a gallery which, at any one time, only
will have a few pieces, or a show which may have twenty. But the
book shows a lot more.
TMC: Are you working on any new projects or exhibitions?
CHRIS: Galleries, special shows, and commissions are my focus
at this time. There are several larger installation ideas in the
works in the USA and Thailand but this is not my main focus. I
have been enjoying speaking about ideas related to art and life as
well as about feathers and my own art. I just gave a TEDx talk
which is on the web and can be found by searching the title of the
talk: The World in a Feather.
32

TMC: Other than creating these wonderful works with feathers,
do you have other creative pursuits?
CHRIS: I write and like to tell stories. Other than that, I have
limited my other creative pursuits so I can focus on my particular
type of art, the path I have chosen to tread.
TMC: Do you have any words of advice for those who want to
pursue a creative path like yours?
CHRIS: My September TEDx talk answers some of this question.
Find your mission, what you want to share with the world. Find
out what people want and like and figure out how your mission
can serve their wants and likes.
33

Bird Plantings
Archaeopteryx
Bird Berry
34

Blackbirds
Rain Fowl
Crow Eruption
35

Columbia Dance
Hummingbird Flower
Eat
36

Ibis
Loon Star
Lift Off 37

Pileated
Red Races
Quail Run
38

Singing Bird
CHRIS MAYNARD - at work
39

40

By
Santosh Bakaya
41

“Kaala doggie, kaala doggie,” shouted the two year old,
clapping his hands in glee, and running after a dog which was not
black, but white.
“It is not black, it is white, silly”. His grandfather said, looking
around sheepishly, lest the other joggers overhear his two year
old grandson’s gaffe.
“He loves the dog and love is colour-blind.” The boy’s smart
looking, young grandmother quipped. The grandfather
harrumphed, still looking sheepish.
“Only if everyone was as naïve as my grandson. Not able to
distinguish between white and black. I salute the wisdom of my
child.” I listened to the wisdom of the young grandmother, jogging
away in her branded track suit.
A group of five year olds were sitting on a bench fronting the
road on which trundled vehicles of all shapes and sizes. Behind
them was the jogging track, where I stopped in my tracks to
eavesdrop on their pleasant chatter.
“If you count at least twenty cars with Rajasthan number
plates …” One five year old posed a challenge.
“Yes I love Rajasthan, it is a beautiful city”, interposed another
bright five year old.
“Rajasthan is not a city “, a jogger said smiling indulgently at
the group.
“I know, uncle, it is a country. I love my country.” another five
year old chipped in, looking at his peer with a condescending air.
“It is not a country. India is our country. Rajasthan is a state.
” The jogger said patiently.
“Whatever, uncle,” the child said, but the uncle was already
out of earshot.
42

“If we count twenty cars, what will you do?” A curious five
year old asked.
“I will give you, three pencils and two shopnors.” He beamed
all round.
“You do not say, SHOPNERS, son, but sharpeners.” The
jogger, who I was sure, was a teacher, had again reappeared on
the scene, breathless after the fourth round of the park.
“Whatever uncle.” Said the child who had thrown the
challenge, looking appreciatively at a kid who had already counted
six cars.
My morning walk over, I headed home.
“I do not like this.” The three year old
Sunita, the maid’s daughter, said looking
covetously at the chocolates on the table,
which I had bought for her and my daughter
from Delhi.
“She does not like chocolates, Kavita?”
I asked her mother.
“She loves chocolates very much, madam.”
“But she says, she does not.”
“Madam, she does not know the meaning of many words.”
Kavita remarked, with a smile.
Delighted that Sunita really loved chocolates , I handed two
bars of chocolates to her , and she pounced at them thanking
me profusely saying SORRY , again and again . To the three–year
old, the word ‘sorry’, stood for ‘Thank you’.
43

The words from ‘Through The Looking Glass’, flashed
through my mind:
“When I use a word”, Humpty Dumpty said in a rather
scornful tone,” it means just what I choose it to mean –neither
more nor less.”
“The question is”, said Alice “whether you can make words
mean so many different things.”
Well, in a couple of hours, I had been witness to words being
used and chosen to mean whatever the kids fancied. ‘White’ had
become ‘black’, ‘not liking ‘was chosen to mean ‘liking’.
As if on cue, my daughter came into the kitchen, rubbing her
sleep-laden eyes, hugging me, and saying,
“I hate you, mom. You suddenly went away to Delhi, leaving
me to manage the house. How selfish! I did not miss you at all.”
Taking a leaf from those toddlers in the park, I felt it was my
prerogative to choose to inject my own meaning in the word
HATE. So, the word HATE was now infused with all the hues of
LOVE, and “not missing” became “Missing”.
Or was I being naïve, like those five year olds?
44

By
Ronald Tuhin D'Rozario
IMAGES:
http://navidad.es/
http://poppalina.typepad.com/
http://selfredirection.com/
http://www.montana.edu/
/www.flickr.com/photos/vincentsworld
45

Simeon and Caroline were God fearing people and proud
parents of a beautiful little girl Esther. Simeon worked in a factory
and Caroline worked as a domestic help in a few houses, in order
to support the family. They lived in a small one-room house, in
one of the narrow lanes of Calcutta. In their little room they
hardly had any furniture except for a small wooden bed on which
Caroline slept with her daughter while Simeon managed the
nights on the floor. A chair and a few basic utensils. A small stove
that was kept in the corner of the room for cooking and a small
altar hung up on the wall, in front of which they prayed together
every day. On Sundays, they went to the nearby Church.
Although life was hard, they were able to somehow manage their
lives, with the bare necessities that they had. They were happy
with their meagre possessions and thanked God each day for His
blessings upon them. Life was moved on. Esther was gradually
growing up amidst all difficulties. Days passed by and soon it was
November. The leaves of the trees began to wither and fall. The
cold wintery winds started blowing, wrapping the city under its
chill. Days turned shorter and the nights, longer. Little Esther,
wrapped up in her little blanket, all warm and cosy, was getting
excited with each passing day, for she could already feel that
Christmas was approaching. One morning she woke up from her
sleep and asked her mother, "Mumma, what gift will Santa bring
me this year?"
"Surprise my dear, it’s a surprise!" Caroline replied and
winked at her. Esther smiled back at her mother.
A few more days passed by and finally the calendar unleashed
its last page, announcing that it was December. Here falls the
Advent, four weeks to Christmas, Noelle! Esther had already
started making plans for Christmas. In her own imaginative way
she moved her little hands in the air and said to herself, "Santa
must be out of his home by now and must have started visiting
houses. He might drop in to our house any day!" Caroline smiled
at her innocence. Simeon couldn't help laughing too. He picked
her up on his arms and said, "What gift do you want from Papa?"
46

Esther thought for a while. "Ermmmm...Candies, chocolates
and a doll. And a dress too!”
"Ok. So be it then! Today on my way back home, I'll bring
them for you." Simeon said with a smile and Esther smiled back
as she hugged him tightly and planted a kiss on his cheek.
Like every other day, Caroline cooked lunch for Simeon
before he left for his factory. After that, Caroline prepared
breakfast. She fed Esther, completed the household chores and
then left for work. For the next few hours Esther had to be alone
in the house, like most other days, until Caroline returned home
and then they would have lunch together. Normally during those
lonely hours she played with the children in her locality but today
she chose to be indoors. She pulled out her toys and played with
them for a while but soon got
bored. Then she thought of doing
something else and looked around
her little room to find something
interesting. She could not find anything
that interested her. When she
was about to give up, she had an
idea. "Let me make a Christmas
card for Mumma and Papa because
Santa won't be bringing them any
gifts!" The idea seemed to delight
her. She quickly took out her drawing book and colour pencils
and tore out a page from it. Then she neatly folded it into two
halves from the centre and started wondering, what to draw.
Time passed by and she got so engrossed into making a beautiful
card that she forgot that it was almost time for her Mumma's
return.
Soon she heard her mother’s footsteps and she quickly hid
the card between the pages of her drawing book. After lunch, it
was a habit for Esther to hear a story from her Mumma until her
little eyes shut down in sleep. Today Caroline narrated the story
of the birth of baby Jesus and she continued until they dozed off.
47

Soon she heard her mother’s footsteps and she quickly hid the
card between the pages of her drawing book. After lunch, it was
a habit for Esther to hear a story from her Mumma until her little
eyes shut down in sleep. Today Caroline narrated the story of the
birth of baby Jesus and she continued until they dozed off.
In the evening, Simeon returned home in a gloomy mood and
empty-handed. Esther ran to greet him and asked, "Papa, what
gifts did you bring for me?" But Simeon failed to reply. Caroline
realised that something was not right with her husband. After
dinner, after Esther had fallen asleep, Caroline asked, "What is
the matter dear? Why are you so upset? Is there a problem?"
Simeon broke down and sobbed.
After a while he composed himself and said, "My job is gone!"
Caroline replied calmly, "What
happened?”
sobs again.
"The labourers in the company
had some demands which the management
refused to accept. That
forced them to go on a strike. To
teach us a lesson, the management
has now shut down the factory indefinitely.
My job's gone. How shall I run
the family?" Simeon buried his face
into his palms and broke down into
"Shhh! Relax dear." Caroline rubbed her palms over his
shoulder to comfort him. "Everything will be fine. Just have faith
in Him." She pointed at the altar.
Days passed by. Christmas was only a week away and yet
Simeon couldn't get a new job and neither could he arrange for
some money to celebrate Christmas with the family. Gradually he
lost hope. But Caroline tried her best to cheer him up and insisted
that she had a strong feeling within her that things will brighten
48

up before Christmas. And yes, she was right. Jesus did look
favourably upon them. To her surprise, Caroline received a special
end-of-year bonus along with her salary. She was also given
cakes from some of the houses where she worked.
Two days to go before Christmas.
Hectic preparations could be seen everywhere. Streets, houses,
churches were being decorated. And Esther's joys knew no
bounds. In the evening she helped her Mumma to make cookies
for Christmas. Caroline used the money wisely so that they could
have a wonderful Christmas together. She brought a beautiful
dress and a doll for Esther and some necessary items for the
occasion as well.
On the morning of Christmas Eve, Simeon and Caroline got
busy buying groceries, chicken and flowers for home. Esther's
excitement and enthusiasm were evident. She sat down and
decorated her little old Christmas tree. She ornamented the crib
beautifully and then burnt an earthen lamp in it for light. She
dusted each of the statues of the nativity carefully and placed
them carefully in the crib. She planted a kiss
on the cheeks of baby Jesus and muttered,
"Happy Birthday!" as she placed him on the
little hay bed at the centre which she had
made with utmost care, guarded by Joseph
and Mary on both the sides.
While returning home from the market in
the neighbouring suburb, Caroline noticed a
cute little stray pup lying in the heat of the
sun on the street. At the sight of Caroline,
the pup wagged its little tail and barked
lovingly, Woof..Woof! This innocent gesture
of love melted Caroline’s heart and she
decided to carry it home with her That
night, after dinner, Esther protested, when she was asked to go
to bed early. "No! Not now Mumma, not until I meet Santa." She
was in no mood to go to bed, because she was all excited about
49

the gifts that Santa would bring her this year. Caroline finally
convinced her Santa will only visit her if goes to bed. After Esther
had gone to sleep, Caroline brought out the little pup that she had
hidden outside. The pup was shivering in cold and looked quite
dusty. Caroline cleaned her, tied a red ribbon around her neck and
fed her some warm milk. She looked adorable. At twelve am
when the Church choir sang "Gloria in Excelsis Deo", Caroline
went to Esther and kissed on her forehead and whispered into her
ears, "Merry Christmas my angel."
Esther opened her eyes and asked,
"What gift did Santa bring for me,
Mumma?"
"Come, it’s waiting for you," Caroline
answered with a smile.
Esther got down from her bed and
saw the pup looking lovingly at her.
"Oh Mumma, she is so cute!" Esther
exclaimed in joy.
"Santa gave you a playmate this year." Caroline said with a smile.
"Mumma, I'll call her Jingle Bells," Esther said. Pow Wow! The pup
replied too and started wagging her little tail to made both of
them laugh. Esther said, "Mumma, I too have something for you",
and gave her the card that she had made. Caroline opened it
carefully and read aloud.
"Dear Papa and Mumma, I Love You. You are the world's best
parents. Merry Christmas!" Esther.
Caroline looked at her daughter and two drops of tears fell on the
floor from Caroline's eyes. They were tears of joy. It was Esther's
first Christmas card for them. It was special. She hugged Esther
tightly as the world heralded the joys of Christmas into their
homes.
50

Images:
https://hdwallpapers.cat
http://warriorsofmyth.wikia.com/
http://abstract.desktopnexus.com/
http://desktopia.net/
http://wallpapersforipad.net/
http://websof.sk/
51

By
52

With a benign smile
You entered
My heart
Open praise
Friendly banter
Shared secrets
I was getting comfortable
Then one day
Out of the blue
You wanted more
And wanted to be more
For all my objections
You had only one answer
"Doesn't matter dear"
The age and distance deemed irrelevant
I too started dreaming about more
Praise became personal
Hearts exchanged
We became 'almost lovers'
As sudden as your entry
Was your exit too
To this day I don't know
Whether you were a dream or reality
Have you really left
Or one of these days you will come back again
And pick up from where you left
But I will always remember you with a smile
Whether dreamy encounter or a fling
To my wintery existence
You brought a storm of spring
© Gauri Dixit
29-Oct-2015
53

I know I have been a good child
And I am not afraid to meet the bogeyman
In fact I would love to meet him
And ask him to start punishing the grown ups as well
Whenever they do bad things
To children or other grown ups
He will have his hands full
The new age bogeyman
©. Gauri Dixit
21-Oct-2015
Sitting in the balcony
I wait for you
There is noise at the door
It must be you
I have kept
The door open for you
I feel your familiar touch
And the breezy kiss
Picking me up
You walk inside
You must be tired
Travelling the distance
Let me get you
Some tea
54
I make the tea
Like you like it
With ginger and
No sugar
I pass the cup to you
But you don’t take it
The cup shatters to pieces
To join the other shattered cups
Every evening
Sitting in the balcony
I wait for you
©. Gauri Dixit
07-Sep-2015

Tangled webs
Troubled waters
Complex patterns
Cluttered minds
So much distress
And utter chaos
But all it takes is
A simple thought,
A modest start,
A guileless smile
To create order in chaos
and untangle the webs.
©. Gauri Dixit
28-May-2015
Knowing not
Who I am
I want to be
Everyone else
Weary of
My unknowns
I want to be
Everyone else
Forgetting that
Each one has
Their own abyss
And I will be One
The day
I jump into mine
55
©. Gauri Dixit
06-Sep-2015

The web is watching
When you get up
When you sleep
What was your last seen
What you watch
What you like
What do you shop for
Where do you live
Where are you
At your home
Or at a rendezvous with a secret lover
Who do you flirt with
And who likes you
The web knows
What you did last summer
Exactly an year ago
And so much more
Of any consequence and no consequence
It is worse than a tapped phone
No single government agency
But a whole contingent of people and non-people
They know about you
And in the name of social media analytics
They sell it to the rest of the world
That does not know
The web is expanding
And closing in on you
Scary social times
©. Gauri Dixit
28-Aug-2015
56

57

My
Financial
Career
By
Stephen Leacock
Images:
http://www.sffaudio.com/
http://www.bcdb.com/
http://movie.douban.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmLm7y_Sfgs
58

When I go into a bank I get rattled. The clerks rattle me; the
wickets rattle me; the sight of the money rattles me; everything
rattles me.
The moment I cross the threshold of a bank and attempt to
transact business there, I become an irresponsible idiot.
I knew this beforehand, but my salary had been raised to fifty
dollars a month and I felt that the bank was the only place for it.
So I shambled in and looked timidly round at the clerks. I had an
idea that a person about to open an account must needs consult
the manager.
I went up to a wicket marked "Accountant." The accountant was
a tall, cool devil. The very sight of him rattled me. My voice was
sepulchral.
"Can I see the manager?" I said, and added solemnly, "alone." I
don't know why I said "alone."
"Certainly," said the accountant, and fetched him.
The manager was a grave, calm man. I held my fifty-six dollars
clutched in a crumpled ball in my pocket.
"Are you the manager?" I said. God knows I didn't doubt it.
"Yes," he said.
"Can I see you," I asked, "alone?" I didn't want to say "alone"
again, but without it the thing seemed self-evident.
The manager looked at me in some alarm. He felt that I had an
awful secret to reveal.
"Come in here," he said, and led the way to a private room. He
turned the key in the lock.
"We are safe from interruption here," he said; "sit down."
We both sat down and looked at each other. I found no voice to
speak.
59

"You are one of Pinkerton's
men, I presume," he said.
He had gathered from my
mysterious manner that I
was a detective. I knew
what he was thinking, and
it made me worse.
"No, not from Pinkerton's," I said, seeming to imply that I came
from a rival agency. "To tell the truth," I went on, as if I had been
prompted to lie about it, "I am not a detective at all. I have come
to open an account. I intend to keep all my money in this bank."
The manager looked relieved but still serious; he concluded now
that I was a son of Baron Rothschild or a young Gould.
"A large account, I suppose," he said.
"Fairly large," I whispered. "I propose to deposit fifty-six dollars
now and fifty dollars a month regularly."
The manager got up and opened the door. He called to the
accountant.
"Mr. Montgomery," he
said unkindly loud,
"this gentleman is
opening an account,
he will deposit fiftysix
dollars. Good
morning."
I rose.
A big iron door stood
open at the side of the
room.
60

"Good morning," I said, and stepped into the safe.
"Come out," said the manager coldly, and showed me the other
way.
I went up to the accountant's wicket and poked the ball of money
at him with a quick convulsive movement as if I were doing a
conjuring trick.
My face was ghastly pale.
"Here," I said, "deposit it." The tone of the words seemed to
mean, "Let us do this painful thing while the fit is on us."
He took the money and gave it to another clerk.
He made me write the sum on a slip and sign my name in a book.
I no longer knew what I was doing. The bank swam before my
eyes.
"Is it deposited?" I asked in a hollow, vibrating voice.
"It is," said the accountant.
"Then I want to draw a cheque."
My idea was to draw out six dollars of it for present use. Someone
gave me a chequebook through a wicket and someone else began
telling me how to write it out. The people in the bank had the
impression that I was an invalid millionaire. I wrote something on
the cheque and thrust it in at the clerk. He looked at it.
"What! are you drawing it all out again?" he asked in surprise.
Then I realized that I had written fifty-six instead of six. I was too
far gone to reason now. I had a feeling that it was impossible to
explain the thing. All the clerks had stopped writing to look at
me.Reckless with misery, I made a plunge.
"Yes, the whole thing."
"You withdraw your money from the bank?"
"Every cent of it."
61

"Are you not going to deposit any more?" said the clerk,
astonished.
“Never.”
An idiot hope struck me that they
might think something had insulted
me while I was writing the cheque
and that I had changed my mind. I
made a wretched attempt to look
like a man with a fearfully quick
temper.
The clerk prepared to pay the
money.
"How will you have it?" he said.
"What?"
"How will you have it?"
"Oh"—I caught his meaning and answered without even trying to
think—"in fifties."
He gave me a fifty-dollar bill.
"And the six?" he asked dryly.
"In sixes," I said.
He gave it me and I rushed
out.
As the big door swung behind
me I caught the echo of a
roar of laughter that went up
to the ceiling of the bank.
Since then I bank no more. I
keep my money in cash in my
trousers pocket and my savings in silver dollars in a sock.
62

63

The
Origins
Of
The
Amazing
Spider-Man
COVER IMAGE: http://wallpapercave.com/
SOURCE: http://www.craveonline.com.au
64

The origin of the “Spider-Man” can be traced back to the collective
efforts of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Stanley Lieber (aka Stan Lee)
had created the Fantastic Four and the Incredible Hulk in the early
sixties with the help of the legendary artist Jack Kirby and that
had helped to usher in the era of the “super hero”.
According to Andy Hunsaker, “Lee often gets a lot of crap for
taking too much credit and boxing out the artists he worked with
back in the heyday, but he has cited the pulp hero The Spider as
an influence. It seems that Lee wanted to create a teenage
superhuman character with real-life problems - something
unheard of at the time of square-jawed heroes. That's apparently
part of why he thought Kirby's classic burly heroic style wasn't a
good fit - even though Kirby said he and Joe Simon had ideas for
an orphaned boy who found a magic ring which gave him spiderpowers
years before, even using the name Spiderman before
changing it to The Silver Spider.”
Ultimately, Lee asked Ditko to assist him in
creating the Spider Man. Ditko is actually the
person who was responsible for creating the best
superhero Spider-Man costume in the history of
Marvel Comics. The superhero’s outfit according
to Hunsaker was “one that always comes back to
its original form no matter how often modern
STAN LEE creators mess around with it. Except for the
armpit webbing. That usually tends to be left out these days,
although every once in a while you get a retro guy who puts it
back in.”
STEVE DITKO
The methodology used at Marvel at that time was
that the artist would draw the characters and also
the panels based on the concept generated by
Stan Lee. Later Lee would add the dialogues and
sound effects based on the artist’s notes on the
panels. The artists were therefore co-writers for
the final product.
Ditko was always a recluse while Lee was always the ‘marketing
man’ and loved the centre stage. Lee has also been the ‘front- for
Marvel Comics. However, if you study Ditko’s photographs and
65

his self-portrait, you can't miss the resemblance between Young
Ditko and Peter Parker (aka Spider Man) – as depicted in the
original illustrations below.
What made Spider Man’s
character different was
that he was the first
teenage superhero who
was not the main hero’s
sidekick. The Spider Man
was also not some
swashbuckling, largerthan-life,
big muscular
character. Instead, he was
a messed up, socially
awkward kid who often
made mistakes in life. In fact, many readers were able to identify
with Peter Parker’s character and this underlined the difference
between Marvel and DC – the rival companies.
After many years of working together on the Amazing Spider
Man, Lee and Ditco ended their working relationship for reasons
unknown (possibly personality conflicts). Ditco’s last issue was
#38 in 1966.
66

Some of the original illustrations from Marvel Comics
67

68

Soccer,
pickpockets
and
a people’s President
By
Razi Azmi
69

Our only trouble in La Paz (Bolivia) was on account of a bad cook,
not with con men or pickpockets, the warnings in my travel book
notwithstanding. We were, however, to come very close to
having our valuables stolen in both Buenos Aires and Montevideo,
the capital of Uruguay.
As we were getting out of a subway train in Buenos Aires on a
Saturday, being the last of the passengers alighting from the
train, with my wife a few meters behind me, like a straggler, I
suddenly heard her scream. Turning back I saw a man close
behind her who she said had tried to open her backpack. I did,
indeed, find it half open. Keeping his nerve, the pickpocket said
he was trying to close it because it was open! A good man! Did
he expect us to thank him?
Our next close call was in Montevideo the very next day, while
walking to the jetty to catch a ferry back to Buenos Aires. It was
a Sunday, with most shops closed. We were walking through a
pedestrian-only street with two to three-storey buildings on both
sides. There were a few open air performances going on,
including the usual street dancing, as is often the case in most
cities in this part of the world.
Further on, it became
The city of Montevideo
quiet and deserted.
Suddenly, I heard my
wife say: “Razi, waapas
mudo” (Razi, turn
back). I turned back
without asking why.
Not because I am one
of those husbands
who will always follow
their wife’s directive,
but because I kind of
understood that she
might have sensed
danger ahead. Having a suspicious bent of mind certainly helps.
Occasionally one is likely to be right.
70

After making an abrupt u-turn, I had merely gone a few metres,
perhaps twenty, when I felt a hand groping my back pocket,
followed by my wife’s scream and my hand touching someone
else’s at the back. Lunging back I saw a teenager walking away
from me to join a man and another teenager who were waiting
ahead. Given the age of the two boys, and the botched attempt
to deprive me of my wallet, they were probably apprentices out
on a practical training with the man.
Montevideo is another typical South American capital city, albeit
smaller than the other capitals. Our first port of call in Uruguay
was the town of Colonia. It is on the northern side of the very
wide La Plata river, directly northeast of Buenos Aires. We took
a fast ferry to Colonia
The historic town of Colonia Del Sacremento, just across the river
From Buenos Aires
The historic old part of Colonia is a charming little place with its
narrow cobblestone streets, fort and leisurely pace. From here,
we caught a bus to Montevideo, about 200 km to the east, where
the river meets the sea, returning to Buenos Aires by a direct
ferry that took about three hours.
Uruguay is not only rather small in a continent of big countries,
but it is also sandwiched between two of the biggest, Brazil and
Argentina. Our bus moved through sparsely populated, green
and flat countryside with the occasional village and not much
traffic.
Small and laid back Uruguay has much to brag about when it
comes to soccer. Most recently, it won the 2011 Copa América
South American championship, which it has won a record 15
times. The national team has twice won the Soccer World Cup,
71

including the first World Cup in 1930, which it hosted. It has won
20 official titles, a world record for the most international titles
held by any country. No wonder, Montevideo has a Football
Museum.
A less known but amazing fact about this little country is the
president himself, who left office earlier this year after serving
just one term, as stipulated in the constitution. According to a
BBC report by Vladimir Hernandez (“Jose Mujica: The world's
'poorest' president”, 15 November 2012), President Jose Mujica
“lives on a ramshackle farm and gives away most of his pay.
Laundry is strung outside the house. The water comes from a
well in a yard, overgrown with weeds. Only two police officers
and Manuela, a three-legged dog, keep watch outside.”
“President Mujica has
shunned the luxurious
house that the Uruguayan
state provides for its
leaders and opted to stay
at his wife's farmhouse, off
a dirt road outside the
capital, Montevideo. The
president and his wife
work the land themselves,
growing flowers.”
He donates about 90% of his monthly salary to charities. "I may
appear to be an eccentric old man... But this is a free choice. I've
lived like this most of my life," he says, "I can live well with what
I have." He drives an old VW beetle that belongs to his wife.
Elected in 2009, Mujica spent the 1960s and 1970s as part of the
Tupamaros, a leftist armed guerrilla group inspired by the Cuban
72

evolution.
He was shot six times and spent 14 years in jail. Most of his
detention was spent in harsh conditions and isolation, until he
was freed in 1985 when Uruguay returned to democracy. Those
years in jail, Mujica says, helped shape his outlook on life.
The Presidential palace that the President chose not to occupy
One hopes that political activists everywhere will use their personal
experiences, both good and bad, pleasant and not so
pleasant, to shape their outlook on life, and be an example for
others to help create a better world.
Meanwhile, we should all say: Jose, your country may be small,
but you are truly great.
Images:
http://www.gigapan.com/ - Glen David Short
http://ltblak.blogspot.com.au/
73

74

Review of
Elephants
Have
Wings
A children’s book
By
Susanne Gervay
Illustrated By: Anna Pignataro
75

Sussanne Gervay OAM
Awarded the Lifetime Social Justice Literature Award for her body
of work by the International Literacy Association, Susanne Gervay
is recognized for her youth literature and writing on social justice.
Susanne’s young adult Butterflies is recognized as Outstanding
Youth Literature on Disability, while her acclaimed picture books
are recognized for their engagement with disability, inclusion,
multiculturalism and peace. The I Am Jack books have become
rite-of-passage on school bullying, adapted into an acclaimed play
by Monkey Baa Theatre, it continues to tour Australian and US
theatres. Susanne’s books are endorsed by Room to Read, bringing
literacy to the children of the developing world, The Cancer
Council. The Alannah & Madeline Foundation. Variety the children’s
charity, the Children’s Hospital Westmead Sydney, Life Education
and many educational organizations.
www.sgervay.com
76

Elephants Have Wings – a book for all ages
Bedtime. And that means a bedtime story, a nightly ritual in many
homes and especially this one. Snuggled under the covers, the
children wait in anticipation as Father begins Grandfather’s Story,
a tale from his childhood.
“One night, your grandfather told me and the other children to go
outside and search for the secret…”
And so begins a new take on the old story of The Blind Men and
the Elephant http://www.constitution.org/col/blind_men.htm
The children all think the secret is something different – “a rope”,
“a tree branch”, “a marble”, “a scarf”, “a sandy wall” they cry, and
begin arguing until they are so angry they are shrieking at each
other like a babble of monkeys because each believes they were
right. And then Grandfather came outside carrying a candle and
the children saw that each had been right but had also been
wrong.
“So what is the secret?” asked the children.
“It is for you to discover,” said Father.
And as the children fall asleep, pondering, they set off on a
magical adventure flying on a mystical elephant with wings
through to morning where they discover the secret.
In a world where reality comes straight into our living rooms, it is
lovely to share a story that offers the suggestion of peace and
hope. As the elephant soars over the world’s landscapes showing
the children its beauty but also its ugliness, the children learn
about people and the core thread of humanity that binds us all
together. The elephant is symbolic in many religions, representing
courage, hope, endurance and wisdom and so the parable of The
Blind Men and the Elephant is part of the story-telling of many
religions and cultures, making this re-imagining a story for all
children.
77

The riches of tradition, mythology and spirituality are woven into
a wonderful tapestry, beautifully captured by Anna Pignataro’s
imagination in the outstanding pictures, intertwined with imagery
of the Asia and India where the story first originated. The concept
that we are all the same but different is a difficult one for young
people to grasp because they only see the external but this
partnership of Gervay and Pignataro (who also brought us Ships
in the Field) is so successful that the message it accessible to all.
So much so that it has been awarded the Blake Prize logo, an
annual Prize and Exhibition program for contemporary art and
poetry exploring the themes of spirituality, religion and human
justice, and the first children’s book ever to have been honoured
in this way.
This is a book for all ages. The commonality of its story across so
many religions begs an investigation into why it would be – what
is its core message that has such universality? Going back to the
original story could spark a discussion about what is truth and
how our perception of events is dependent on our role within
them and the lens through which we are looking. Even though
each picture is full of the richest details, its true beauty only
emerges when we look at it in its entirety.
Review by:
Barbara Braxton
Teacher Librarian M.Ed.(TL), M.App.Sci.(TL), M.I.S. (Children's
Services)
Dromkeen Librarian's Award barbara.288@bigpond.com
500 Hats http://500hats.edublogs.org ;
The Bottom Shelf http://thebottomshelf.edublogs.org/
78

An Indian perspective
I was simply swept off my feet by the quality of the work.
Elephants Have Wings apart from being a wonderful book for
children in its own right militates against many stereotypes around
the discourse of children's literature. It proves once and for all that
children's literature need not be childish. Great ideas and complex
thoughts need not adopt complex mode of polarisation and a grave
bearing. The book demonstrates with great power that we can
teach our children profound truths and timeless values through a
language they can easily access.
Review by:
D.R. Pattanaik
Professor of English
Department of English, Faculty of Arts,
Banaras Hindu University
Varanasi, 221005, India
79

80

Book Launch
Ginninderra Press is pleased to announce the
publication of
The Fourpenny Axe and a Snooker Cue
By
Garth Alperstein
To be launched by Smoky (GW) Robinson
Sunday 6 th December 3.30 pm for 4 pm
at Gleebooks, 49 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe, Sydney
This is a story about growing up in a small racist town, Fort
Beaufort, in the Eastern Cape, South Africa during the Apartheid
years. The author is the oldest son of the town’s mayor, a
publican. He grew up between the hotel, where he was exposed
at an early age to much of the town’s less salubrious goings on
and a harsh boarding school experience. Garth relishes the
simple language of a story told by cronies at the bar, where he
served drinks to his father’s customers in his holidays from the
tender age of 12. But the stories, some of them fabulous and
more amusing or poignant for being real, are not told with
nostalgia for the past. Patiently, as he pieces together his own
back-story, he sees that it is a tiny fragment overlaying a much
larger picture. The clash of indigenous inhabitants with a
southerly expansion of Bantu tribes and the newly arrived
colonists from Europe is developed as secondary story lines, told
in small vivid vignettes which run through the memoir as threads
of reason. Its scope is vast but its tone is frank and disarmingly
personal.
PUBLISHED BY: Ginninderra Press
http://www.ginninderrapress.com.au/
81

Garth Alperstein is a semiretired paediatrician
with a speciality in child and youth public health.
He currently is the Child and Youth Health
Advisor to Maari Ma Health Aboriginal
Corporation in Broken Hill, NSW. He has in
excess of seventy publications in the medical
literature, but this is his first publication in the
genre of creative writing.
Kindle Review: This book is written by a totally sympathetic and
intelligent author who has managed to create a picture, with great
feeling, of what it was like growing up as a white South African
during the 1950's. Every page is utterly readable and sensitive as
to what childhood and adolescence is about - but in his case - in
unique circumstances. He uses an unsparing eye that scans with
intelligence, humour and amused empathy, in a way that leaves
the reader feeling emotionally richer and better informed.
82

The Mind Creative
www.themindcreative.com.au
themindcreative@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/TheMindCreative
www.pinterest.com/themindcreative
Cover Photograph: https://unsplash.com/
All original works used in this magazine are for educational purposes
and for viewing by readers. These works are not, in any way, to be
used for commercial reasons or for profit.
83